In 1953, sexologist Alfred Kinsey released his study “Sexual Behavior in the Human Female,” and Hugh Hefner launched Playboy magazine. Hefner had liquidated everything he owned and borrowed $1,000 from his mother to fund the inaugural issue.

It featured 1949 nude calendar shots of Marilyn Monroe and sold 50,000 copies in one month. In film, director Billy Wilder challenged the ominous Motion Picture Production Code with sex comedies like “The Seven Year Itch,” “Some Like It Hot,” “The Apartment” and “Irma La Douce,” making playboys played by actors like Rock Hudson or Tony Curtis and liberated women played by Monroe and Shirley MacLaine all the rage. By the John F. Kennedy era, the sexual revolution was in full swing.

Farcical sex comedies have remained immensely popular ever since in every medium, from television’s “Three’s Company,” to more recent films such as “American Pie,” “The Hangover” and their sequels. French playwright Marc Camoletti’s farces, 1962’s “Boeing-Boeing” and its sequel, 1987’s “Don’t Dress for Dinner,” are two of the most lasting and wildly successful plays within the genre, with dozens of revival productions produced by American regional theaters annually. Productions of both plays are scheduled on Maui this year, with “Don’t Dress for Dinner” opening at the ProArts Playhouse on Friday night.

I interviewed director Kristi Scott and the cast of six last week and asked why American audiences love sex comedies.

“People love sex, and people love the suggestiveness,” said Sharleen Lagattuta, who plays Suzette, a gourmet chef mistaken as a mistress. On the script, she shared, “When it’s done in a clever way like this, with some light-hearted and suggestive moments, it’s very funny.”

“In my opinion, America has not come to terms with sex. We’re still puritanical in nature,” said David Negaard, who plays the philandering husband, Bernard. “We want to be sexually liberated, but we’re afraid to talk about it – we still have that shame, but we escape into the fantasy of shows like this. It reminds me of what I watched as a kid on television in the 1970s.”

Bernard is planning a romantic rendezvous with his mistress, Suzanne (Felicia Chernicki-Wulf), complete with a gourmet caterer and an alibi courtesy of his friend Robert (James Abbott). Bernard’s wife, Jacqueline (Jett Robidoux), has her own plans, a surprise weekend tryst as well, setting a collision course of assumed identities and a crowded infidelity romp in the French countryside.

Dealing with sex comedies of another era can sometimes present the concern of sexism in the 21st century.

“I don’t think things have changed all that much when it comes to men and women,” said Jim Oxborrow, who plays Suzette’s husband, George. “I grew up with shows like ‘Three’s Company’ and other sitcoms with sexual misunderstandings – the in-one-door-and-out-the-other comedy is familiar to me and that’s why I’m drawn to it. What I like about George is he is this very masculine big shot but very vulnerable when he’s with his wife. It’s a reverse of sexism. I think male actors like to play into the whole mommy aspect in comedies where women treat us like little kids.”

“She’s not stupid,” said Lagattuta of Suzette. “She went to Cordon Bleu and she’s street smart, so she’s not against making an extra buck to pretend to be a mistress or a niece.”

“She’s cunning and knows how to get the job done,” added Negaard.

“I’m just looking at him as a money pot,” joked Lagattuta.

Scott has moved the setting of “Don’t Dress for Dinner” from the 1980s to the 1990s.

“I didn’t want to do another ’80s play, so I set it as modern as I could, but up to the time where cellphones weren’t around. One cellphone and the whole premise goes away. Besides, the ’80s were a terrible fashion time.”

She has a theory on America’s fixation with franchises like Playboy and “Mad Men.”

“As a species, maybe we’re not monogamous by nature, but we’ve agreed to a certain set of rules. These plays bring out inner feelings like, ‘That could be fun,’ but the moral is always you don’t want to do this because of what will happen,” she shared. “Because plays like this are written with so much wit and intelligence, it represents a certain removed, sophisticated society, as if that crowd could handle that scenario and we as the audience get to just observe and laugh.”

“It taps into a part of us all that is a little taboo and it brings out an alpha mentality that lets us live through the character vicariously. It’s naughty and we like it,” said newcomer Abbott who makes his Maui debut in “Don’t Dress for Dinner.”

Abbott has previously performed with theater companies in North Carolina, Virginia, Texas and California in addition to appearing in several independent films. I asked Scott to share her thoughts on finding new talent on Maui.

“I love working with new people. It’s the same idea of finding a perfect shell on the beach or discovering the hip new spot before anyone else does – or the cool boyfriend that you can’t wait to show off to your family – ‘Look who I just met.’ There is a joy of discovery, and James has been so much fun to work with,” she said.

“People like taboo,” said Chernicki-Wulf. “They like indulging in fantasy without having to live it. You have the freedom to escape into this world without consequences because it’s not your life.”

“So the complicated, intellectual answer is that I believe it’s freeing,” added Robidoux. “Americans are in the closet about sex in general. Many people are raised to be embarrassed about their sexuality or body type, but it’s safe to acknowledge sex in a group setting if we’re all laughing about it, but the simple answer is it’s funny.”

“I was laughing out loud when I read the script for the first time,” said Lagattuta. “If you’re looking for a great time to laugh constantly, then this is definitely the show.”

ALSO THIS WEEKEND

The Merwin Conservancy’s Green Room series presents an evening of readings and a discussion with Michael Ondaatje, author of “The English Patient.”

The poet and novelist is known for his lyrical works that dissolve the lines between prose and poetry, such as “The Collected Works of Billy the Kid,” recollections of his Ceylon upbringing in “Running in the Family” and the brutality of Sri Lanka’s civil war in “Anil’s Ghost.” Ondaatje’s style is rooted upon juxtaposition, startling imagery and intense language.

* The event will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday in the McCoy Studio Theater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului. A reception with music, dessert, champagne and book signings will follow. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $10 for students with ID (plus applicable fees) and are available at the box office, by calling 242-7469 or online at www.mauiarts.org.

*****

The Maui Theatre opens “Magic on Maui” starring Seth Grabel. Best known for his appearances on “America’s Got Talent,” Grabel impressed the judges and quickly became a fan favorite.

The Las Vegas-based magician will showcase his magic and comedy skills with “Magic on Maui,” a production created especially for Hawaii and the Maui Theatre. Grabel’s versatile magic takes audiences on a journey of wonder and excitement, leaving them asking “How does he do that?”

* Performances will be at 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, this week through July 10 at the Maui Theatre in Lahaina. Tickets range from $49 to $99 and are available by calling 856-7900 or visiting www.mauitheatre.com.

OPPORTUNITIES

ProArts Inc. will be holding

auditions for “12 Angry Jurors,” directed by Angie Thompson, at 6 p.m. Monday at the ProArts Playhouse in Kihei.

Appointments are not necessary, but all actors are asked to bring a current resume and head shot and be prepared to read from the script. A stipend is paid to all participants. Seven of the roles have been cast. Remaining roles are open to both men and women.

* The production will open Aug. 5 with seven performances through Aug. 14. Rehearsals will begin immediately following casting. For more information or to download the script, visit www.proartspacific.com.